JP On Gaming

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

I am sending you this to let you know at this time: [June 30th] 10:47pm CDT, I have removed all NeoExodus products from RPGNow. They still show on their search engine, but they are no longer available and should be cleared out on their next refresh in the next hour or so - which is out of my control.

I believe I have removed all the links and reference from FOE's website.

Well I'm off!

Good luck.

JP

It was a rather emotional message for me to send as it marks the end of a long and quite prosperous relation. It tried to keep it short. It was the setting that I really helped grow into a coherent whole and a lot of myself is it.

I wish my friend the best and know we'll get around a White Russian again at a con in the future. Though emotional for the time invested, I see the future as bright and open for FOE. The partnership and experience gained with LPJ is invaluable to me and something I will cherish.

But like leaving high school, I will now fly under my own wings. The Tyrants of Saggakar line is really exploding (eclipsing all my other products in both numbers of sales and dollars). So I know there is a market for it I just have to keep pushing myself to make better and better products every day.

So it is an emotional day, but one I know will lead to bigger and better things for all involved.

Sad? Yes. Happy? Yes.

See you at the gaming table my friend, let's give our players so many options they wonder what to buy next!

For weeks now, I have been telling you that I'm hard at work on the Player's Guide for Tyrants of Saggakar. Well now is time to provide you with some REAL teasers. Here is the overall table of contents. There will be some things shifting around but you can definitely get a feel for the content. People who chatted me up on facebook, skype, or any other messaging technology have been on the receiving end of spoilers and teasers from this book.

I do plan on expanding a little on the Planes - though that section might end up in the Gazetteer book, which will have most of the info for the world in general...

So, with time, I decided that I would do the following. First put out a PDF for the Player's Guide, second I will finish the Gazetteer aka the World Book. When both are done, I will plan on putting them together and come up with a "Tyrants of Saggakar Campaign Setting" regrouping both books and offer them in printed format.

Have an actual book!

I am so giddy at the idea. I am filled with girlish glee as I think about it. My own book... *giggles*

I guess the biggest question I have is: What else would you want me to put in this book? Is there anything that you want or need as players?

Thursday, June 25, 2015

So I have been playing with Paint Shop Pro to create some banners for the end of NeoExodus Legacies. These will be running on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG for the next few days. You may click on them from here to reach the old Legacies material.

Per my license, all of FOE's NeoExodus adventures and products will be pulled, on June 30th. So now is the time to grab them any of the Legacies products you have missed, Pay-What-You-Want (please offer something to my poor authors: John and James, I'd like to pay them something).

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Continuing this series on NPCs I liked... This time focusing on monsters and non-humanoids.

Chad, I know you are not patient and blasted my lists before you even read the "Non-Humanoid list". See if your "boy-toy" made this list...

Arem'shehr Sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, Arem'shehr was a villain that first appeared in A1 - Encounter at Ramat Bridge that plagued the world until 93-LI-03 Legacy of Lies where the PCs got their one chance at killing her. Of course, she did not let that happen and she managed to delay the PCs long enough for her ritual to complete. Throughout the end of the campaign, she remained quiet, most likely bidding his time.

Kago & Cerulia Kagodwama, the elder blue dragon who was chased out of Sametia by the Janus Horde, only to return and fight during the Crusade of 92 AU (in 92-LI-01 Opening Moves). He was a bigger player in my home campaign than in Legacies. His lone surviving child, the wyrmling Cerulia appeared in 93-LC-04 Phrenic Nightmares where she obtain healing and presents from submissive PCs. This pair had a lot of potential for development.

Shalzar of the Trogs This king of the troglodytes from 93-LC-01 In Sickness and in Health, was dying when he was last seen. Few PCs decided to end his misery, instead deciding to leave him to die, or try some minor healing on him. Exactly what happened to him remains a mystery. I had a few ideas, but nothing came out of it.

Spargl'Bargl This poor mentally-challenged choker made a use impact when he appeared in 94-LC-02 As if it could get any better. He did not want to kill the PCs but wanted them to get out of his domain. Silly PCs they decided to kill him. I think his name was the catchiest thing about him, and Spargl'Bargl said his name. A lot.

Harbinger Wexel This high-level priest of the Kaga served as a way for me to make sure the PCs understood that "something important is happening". From his first appearance in A5 - Battle of Trovaska, through the 2012 Free RPG Day adventure, through his fighting some type of buried cthonic entity in 93-LI-03 Opening Moves, I always saw any of his appearances, were akin to having Mordenkainen/ Tenser/ Rary appear. Things suddenly got REAL, and you had to pay attention. (No I don't consider an appearance by Elminster to have any significance.)

Monday, June 22, 2015

With the NeoExodus Legacies coming to a final end, I decided to take some time to reflect on some of my favorite NPCs in the campaign. Because of their role and personalities, each of them made it really interesting to write them into a story. They immediately added a different element to a plot.

Here are my top five ladies, in no particular order.

Lady Maud Eland-Dubriden Often thought to be Lady Sofie's sister, Lady Maud was not as dedicated a Crusader that she would let her life pass her by. When offered an advantageous marriage, she accepted and left her native Empire for the Dominion. Moving south, she became a sorceress of limited power. It was so funny to see the faces of those who had never met her when she used her one magic missile... Hilarious! Her marriage was one that seemed quite good as she and her arranged husband, Sheik Arjouf, did have a strong liking to each other.

Nathasha Ilyanova The ice queen of the Protectorate, Captain Ilyanova had a knack for appearing whenever the PCs had to deal with the Protectorate's military. She appeared in the very first adventure, at Ramat Bridge, and she appeared in the very last adventure where she was in command of an outpost from where assaults on the town of Gytha were about to launch. I always imagined her as Sorcha from WarMachine.

I really wanted her to grow as a character and get to do more, becoming someone who would do more than give missions. However, I had not found a niche I wanted her to explore yet, so this project fell flat.

Oh Well!

Shafell A character from my last home campaign in Colorado. She was an overzealous daughter who was willing to help the PCs if the freed her. This is, she managed to have the PCs do her bidding, even after they learned that she had been manipulating them AND that she was responsible for their predicament. Of course, by then she was offering them money and adventure leads... Bah it was all worth it!

Shafell appeared as a matron in 93-LC-03 Sugar and Spice making a valid legal claim for her sister Varhoona (who is also on this list). She lost her claim, the players not deeming her worthy of raising her sister.

Lady Sofie Braulen Lady Sofie first played in our first multi-table interactive at Genghis Con 2012. Lady Sofie was, as I described her to D'Anne, "imagine Paris Hilton going out on a military campaign". And well she did fit the bill very well as MANY people hated her. Players even thought her to "get in fireball formation", but not explaining what it was. So for a long time, she kept telling the PCs to get in fireball formation, something which the PCs found both iconic of her, and greatly annoying. As we moved into 93-LC-04 Phrenic Nightmares, the young lady of the year before was replaced by a veteran campaigner, her character changed slowly, providing story potential with each new adventure.

Varhoona The creepy little ginger girl who was the focus of 93-LC-03 Sugar and Spice has a strange history, she bears the name of a man who is not her father. However, her father is a succubus, or has a strong succubus heritage - it was never expanded in the campaign. Her ability to cause strife and chaos was just unmatched, and the players fell for her hook, line and sinker. EVERY TIME. Maybe it is true that little girls are made of sugar and spice...

What about you? Which female NPC do you best remember of the campaign? Why?

Friday, June 19, 2015

With the NeoExodus Legacies coming to a final end, I decided to take some time to reflect on some of my favorite NPCs in the campaign. Because of their role and personalities, each of them made it really interesting to write them into a story. They immediately added a different element to a plot.

Here are my top five men, in no particular order.

"Bloody" Bartak first written in Linda's awesome "A Rose by any name", Bartak's fate was decided by cruel adventurers who all believed that love wasn't worth the same as cold, hard, cash. Bartak next appear later, this time in Trovaska where he tried to rebuild his life as the owner of an inn, The Nasian Queen. He would spend many hours staring at the portrait of his lady love. In their final appearance, he and his love were sitting together in his inn.

Prince Dimitri Ulanov This Sametian prince was the head of the Protectorate campaign against the town of Gytha. His family history was filled with elements that made him not-as-clean as he appeared. This cavalry officer was a dashing man who might have become a suitable suitor for the Tsarina or her sister.

Academician Meller This character, straight out of 92-LC-01 Bloody Ice was one that I didn't particularly care for early on. He was an over-dedicated academic out of his element. He became a character that I cherished after my friend Lenny's character, who was also a Professor (with low Charisma) played a scene in which the two nerds talked together in academic-ese for hours.

Ulf Adarsson From his first appearance in 92-LC-02 Shattered Peace, Ulf has been a favorite of mine. A natural werewolf, he was the one who started infecting the poor populace with what he, at first, called the "blessing of the Dragon". However, when, under the advice of Arem'shehr, the Warrior-Queen saw the potential of a mass-produced lycanthrope army, he was forced to share his blessing. This turned the werewolf against the Queen and made him something of a rebel. PCs dealt with him quite a few times, usually in a non-violent fashion. Last he appeared at the Lexicon interactive, he did not engage his own forces in a conflict he saw as lost. Ulf's opposition to the queen, but rabid dedication to the Dragon made him a dangerous, but useful ally.

Prince Vladimir Gregorevich A short-lived character, I always imagined Prince Vladimir, consort to Tsarina Anayanka to be a character played by Brian Blessed in a movie. He was tall, proud and loud, a true old-style Russian. His demise in the underground ruined city of Dinith Soohn was a shock to me. I thought more people would try and save him. To his credit, only one brave woman, a levelled-up Freja played by Neale-D soloed the scythians and First Ones assassins I had sent against the fighter/ranger that he was. Of all the groups that dared enter the buried city, Neale/Freja was the only one who succeeded in his mission.

What about you? Which male NPC do you best remember of the campaign? Why?

Thursday, June 18, 2015

I remember in the olden days when Arcanis was a 3.0/3.5 system. In their books, they had a "sealed A" that meant that any such content was allowed into their living campaign. It is an idea I really appreciated, especially when we played through the excellent and quite grisly Nishanpur story arc.

I still think this is an easy way to let players know something is campaign legal without having to put anything more in the book.

Not only use this in books but also on this blog. Thus letting you know of a campaign rule or addition.

Those of you who have the book on the ArchDespotate may have seen this symbol already. I placed that in there in the section about the law and crime. But also how to avoid and minimize punishment. This is a neutral evil nation after all!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

On Friday morning, my table not having gone off, and not wanting to join a table of seven players (I never play with 7, preferring to withdraw), I decided to head out and look for a random game needing players.

So as I roamed the halls, I happened on a table that had a nice display using dungeon tiles and only two players (both of whom I knew). It was a table of Shaintar, a D&D-like setting for Savage Worlds. Now I like Savage Worlds, because it does what it promises: a fast-paced game with minimal fuss (at least it has been my experience with it). I agreed to sit down and play, thus helping the table happen.

There are four things I have to say about it.

First, the setting is a Europe-like setting with each nation mapping to a rough fantasy equivalent. Not very novel, but fairly effective. New players can immediately assume stereotypes about a nation. It's fine. The adventure we played had us patrolling an area near "Russia" in an area ruled by a necromancer and the undead. The setting was easy to understand and get the feel of the place.

Second, the adventure itself was fairly straightforward. This was perhaps the weakest point for me. We had a basic plan "go investigate" and we spent most of our time fighting on the cool dungeon-tile maps. But there really was nothing more: no moral choice, no decision, no significant interaction with any NPCs. We got info-dumped after the fighting parts. I understand that we were in a kinda-war zone, but having some noteworthy information would have elevated the adventure for me. As it was, it felt really dry.

Third, the kinda-organized play part was something that intrigued me. From 2011-12, I ran what would become Legacies pretty much the same way. So I thought it was a cool idea. I may be tempted to add these events to my list of games for Origins next year. I'm undecided but keep those events in mind.

Fourth, playing D&D with Savage Worlds. As much as they don't want to say it, that is pretty much the basic of this setting. I play an elf sorcerer and quickly got the hang of it. now I will admit, I did not have many spell casting options on this character, and my melee skills... well they sucked. Still with my basic knowledge of SW (I am by no means an expert on the topic), I quickly understood what to do and how to do it. Then again, it is one of the great things about the system, that you know one you pretty much know all.

So overall, a positive experience. There are things I would do differently (obviously), but the actual offering is quite good. I would like to see more interaction and less "just combat" but I could skip past that.

JP

PS: After writing this, I realized that I did NOT have a Savage Worlds label for posts. A Crime I say. I thought I had already written about that game. Alas I had not. I need to get some more SW in my playing rotation!

Monday, June 15, 2015

On a completely unrelated topic, I was talking to a friend on-line about settings and he pointed out that Dark Sun was the only setting that had sterile cross-species breeding, with the Mul, a half-human/half-dwarf hybrid. These hulking creatures are a one of Dark Sun's most iconic creatures. I thought about how I could add a mul-like race to Saggakar, without upsetting the balance.

I had initially thought about creating a race of eunuchs, poor neutered creatures whose parent decide to castrate for some reason. However after giving it some more thought, I began to wonder why the First Ones would deprive themselves of a potential resource and troops. It would be much more in their own interests to do that to slaves.

On an unrelated topic, I have finally sat down and treated myself to a three week marathon of five seasons of Game of Thrones. Great, brutal, twisted and violent, visually stunning, makes for awesome TV. I will not be spoiling anything here. Poor Theon Greyjoy who enjoyed his "little brain" a little too much. That horrible scene, still makes me shudder in terror and sympathetic pains.

So how could I create my "mul", I asked myself. It would have to be something that was not man-made, like a eunuch. No, it needed to be something that happened naturally, something that would be visible at birth some type of obvious deformity.

So I went down the path of the mongrelmen, part this, that and everything else. However, having such deformed creatures as half-First Ones did not appeal to me. I needed something else.

Then I literally stepped on my solution.

Barbie.

My daughters have a collection of Barbie: clothes, accessories, and other things. There is the house, the furniture, etc.

Yes, that hot blonde with her hot pink car and her toys! Barbie and her man, Ken, were notoriously flat "down there". I had it! Finally my solution appeared. A race of people who were flat "down-there". This would allow their racial affiliation to be obvious at birth AND make them a half-First One race!

Now to determine which ability they had. I wanted to avoid having to create a crossbreed with every race. I wanted a race that was unique and that could easily be implemented.

I sat down to my computer, trying to make out ways and places I could act. I played with a few things, but in the end, I gave them a minor version of shadow jump and the ability to quality for any feat or prestige class that is racial-based. Effectively making this an all in one multi-race.

Then I started to think of a few more things: what would they look like? I decided on a hybrid of both parents with androgynous features. I like the results.

Finally, I needed a name. Unlike the hulking half-dwarves of Dark Sun, my halfbreeds could not really go by mul. A quick read of wikipedia taught me a list of castrated creatures. I decided upon havier, which is a neutered deer. However I did not like the sound of it, so I shortened it to "havers" which sounds a lot like "half-ers" which is both insulting to them and shows the First One' didain for such creatures.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

With Gencon VERY fast-approaching, I am frantically working on the Player's Guide to Saggakar. One of the things I am trying to nail down is the cover. I spent little while this morning playing with some art to see what I can come up with. I came up with the above design. I like it but wonder if it is too crowded...

Thursday, June 11, 2015

With Gencon ticket sales going on, I am extremely pleased to report that there are (right now) six tickets left for the Tyrants of Saggakar events (out of 36). Hurry up and secure your seat(s). There is also one adventure marked as "NeoExodus" that will be moved to Saggakar and the blurbs changed, however, those are not doing as well but there is still time.

From talks I've had with fans and players, both in person and through various instant messaging technologies, there is a lot of enthusiasm for the new Tyrants of Saggakar! It seems to have sparked character and plot ideas from GMs and players.

Which remind me that I need to finish the special - I have a few boxed texts to tighten and clean up. And come up with a few unique items for people...

This is an exciting time for FOE: revealing new iconics, revealing the setting, revealing the races, and coming up next: revealing the new rules for Legacies. Throughout this week, I plan to publish more things about the Legacies campaign and the Saggakar setting.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Sometimes it is great to write about other things we like. Not just gaming. Food is one thing I personally enjoy. A lot. In this post I will describe five dishes that I really like. These are things I have either on special occasions or at a restaurant that specialize in them.

I have avoided to mention those foods I consider common and focused on those that evoke either a time or place in my own life.

Sashimi The Japanese way of preparing raw fish. Not the rolls or the piece of fish on a ball of rice. I mean fish. Just fish. Rice on the side. The coolest story I have about it is that one time Pascal and I order a boat of sashimi in Utsunomiya (the dish was served on a small wooden boat). It was so fresh that it had a fishhead on our plate. Yes still breathing! I poked it in the eye. It was both awesome and gruesome at the same time.

Gyros sandwiches Greek sandwiches made with either beef, chicken, lamb, goat, or pork. I love them all. As a child, my mother and aunt wouldgo there regularly. By the time I turned 7 or 8, I would eat one of those by myself. No fries no nothing.to this day, when I return to that restaurant, I still eat them, though I can now eat two... I have been to many other places and enjoy many different recipes, Arahova set the bar high for all others.

Paneer Korma I got into Indian food later in life. Paneer is a tofu like cheese and korma is a creamy sauce. I really like the combination. It was one of the dishes I ordered with Julie as we celebrated her first birthday after she moved in with me. Turns out it was too spicy for her.

Couscous with Mergez Another type of food I got into later in life. Although there are many different types of couscous, the one I think about comes from a tiny place in the Quartier Latin in Paris. Again introduced to it by an ex, I must say that I have not really had any in years. The lack of merguez here in the States (Julie has been doing a lot of searching).

Curries This one is more general than the previous dishes. I first had good curry while at the university. As president of the RPG club, I would do the social thing and was lucky enough to be invited to eat with the Muslim Association. There we spoke frankly and intelligently about philosophy and religion. One of the things that really stuck with me is the many varieties of curries. Delicious and eaten with flat pita-like bread. Today when I enjoy curries, I think of sitting with those guys and talking intelligently about tough subjects. I hold on to the dream that one day we could all just sit down and eat together in peace. I doubt it will ever happen, but I hope that my own small acts helped.

Food conjures images. Whether positive ones or negative ones. The important thing is that they become part of the memory. Whether a fish head or a date with an old flame, food brings images.

So what does this haveto do with gaming?

Nothing. However use of these images is too often ignored by us writers. We simplify everything to a slop of stew or a simple venison roast. I do it too often

But what about the less traditional foods? What do they tell us? What images do they conjure?

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Here is my Origins After-Action Report. A short overview of how this past weekend went. The good, the bad, the plan for next year.

The Trip

This year my trip to Origins was twice the distance: three hours from Nashville to Louisville and three hours from Louisville to Columbus. I-65 then I-71. I had a quick stop in Louisville to spend some time with Julie and watch the kids sleep.

The Con

As an idiot, I forgot that I did not have an 8 AM slot on Wednesday! I could've slept until 7am! Oh well. I was there and ready to do stuff. I got time to chat with James-Z from PCI and with others.

The rest of the day I played Arcanis and Legend of the Five Rings.

Thursday, I GM'd some WitchHunter, Blood Moon on the Seine, the start of the year 2 story arc. In the evening, I got to play some more Arcanis with my good friend Chad.

Friday, I played a game of Shaintar "kinda organized play." I will have more to post about this campaign in another post. The afternoon slot, I got to run "TOS1-01 In the ArchDespot's service" which is on the intro mods to Saggakar. The game went well, though I decided to reorganized the player handouts a little after the game, make them more "organic" and "natural".

The evening, I had initially planned to play WitchHunter, but the table did not go off. As a backup, I wanted to play L5R, but they had a non-Heroes of Rokugan Larp.

So I got to my first choice of LARP: Arcanis. Everyone wanted to see me in my dress & wig again. I settled for the red nail polish (it was all I had in my medicine box). I must admit that I had a lot of fun throughout the LARP. I did what I would expect Kermina to do: stick with the richest most available man (which in this case, was Lord Varo played by Eric-W of PCI). I was a social butterfly, going from here to there, and fleeing from the gnomes (who are like, so TOTALLY disgusting, and like filled with cooties, and like they are TOTALLY like ewwwwh!)

So I managed to get myself invited to Tomo-Khan's wedding. However, to conclude the wedding, I had to agree to attend with a gentlemen of the Khan's wife's choosing. Wishing to claim some credit in this wedding, I agreed.

BUT THEN, I WAS UNDONE!!!

Her terms were that I attend the wedding with that horrendous thing that is Temi-do the gnome. I almost puked in my mouth when she announced it. Barely an intelligent creature! Gah!

Note In Arcanis, gnomes are deformed creatures who are the children of dwarves and men. Gollum would readily be a hot-looking one. My character is particularly prejudiced against them, as she finds them extremely distasteful...

Note 2 Temi-do is Chris-C's character who pursued me throughout the LARP (and all the way back to Arcanicon). I love playing with him because he's not only a great player but his character is very unique. He likes to make my character feel uncomfortable by being near me. That will no doubt be a plot in one of next year's LARP or Arcanicon event. I dunno exactly when/where it will be. It'll be a very fun and interesting event that's for sure!

On Saturday, I played the last of the Arcanis Hard Point adventure before getting in on the two-rounds battle interactive. For the first time in... well ever, Kermina managed not to be a burden to her party, and actually managed to be quite helpful!

Yes! I was quite surprised myself. I served as healer, did some fighting, did some dancing, I did take a fair amount of damage.

The Good

Origins is a great convention, the venue and size of it makes it conducive to talking to people, sit down at a random table for a game, and just "relax" - I know it is rather odd to say, but the pace of Origins is much different than GenCon's, which to me feels much more business-like, stressful and requires a lot more running around. I would say that the two are completely different.

Arcanis. The story, the execution, the people, All of these are high points for me. I really enjoyed the Arcanis larp and the battle interactive. It got hairy, scary and brutal all at once. With the final result that I now have a date at one of next year's major events where I will have to accompany Chris-C's gnome character.

It was the first Arcanis BI that my character acted as the main healer (there were a lot of others, but I think I cast more healing than anyone else). Normally, I am a skirmished dancing around the edges of the battlefield this time, I did some of that, but having improved my spell casting abilities, I could easily heal people and perform a few other maneuvers.

The Not-so-great

Again this year, I only ran a very small portion of my own events (1 to be exact). That said, the players I had made my job as a GM both easy and thoroughly enjoyable. After the game, I decided to reorganize how my player handout were arranged so I did a little bit of house cleaning last night after the game.

The HQ lines throughout the weekend remained rather long. I'm not 100% sure what the problem was, but it is greatly frustrating when you have 8 people sitting behind the desk, and only two are working through a huge line of customers. I thought it didn't look good and was frustrating when you had only a short break. Now the people were really nice and efficient, but taking some of the rush would help. And no, I'm not talking about the initial line (against which there is little to do)

The Lower Attendance proved to be something that was not ideal. That said, a number of factors played into this: the school year in three nearby states (Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio) either ended DURING or AFTER the con, the beautiful weather, all played into this.

I did not get a chance to play any of the WitchHunter events. I did get to run two WH events to back up my man Clint. Both of which went well and I had a blast sending werewolves, satanic cultist, and vampires against my unsuspecting table of players. It was great.

Next Year's Plan

With the low number of ticket sales, I have been debating whether I should simply forego GMing events next year and focus on playing. Make Origins my play-holiday. With any luck, the kids might be come with me, particularly Jojo...

Father of 3. Avid role player since 1984. Since 2000, I have been writing
role-playing material for events around the world.
I am the owner of FOE (First Ones Entertainment) and lead the Legacies Organized Play campaign. My other interests include history and miniature war-gaming.